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6 Reasons Why Startups And Innovation Make The Ideal Allies!

A healthy economy comprises various businesses and enterprises, both big and small. In fact, the global economy continues to survive and then thrive because the leaders and players in different industries keep adapting to the evolving needs arising from changing times. In this context, it is easy to see the importance of adapting and innovation, be it a new-age startup or a long-established industry titan.

Demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1,000 banknotes, announced on the 8th of November 2016, was a bold move by the Government of India. While the announcement was subjected to much ridicule and scrutiny, the fact remains that it undoubtedly lead to the growth of digital payments in India.

The startup space, particularly in India has shown a radical increase and is bursting with new entrants every single day. One can pick up any industry segment or sub-segment and it has a variety of new-age startups, in different stages of growth.

What this translates into is the fact that there are so many players vying for the same things – the same set of talent, the same kind of funding, and possibly similar target clients and vendors as well.

Why Financial Discipline Is Crucial To Any Startup’s Growth! (Trak.in)

The notion of discipline or controlled behaviour is not applicable only in the context of general social behaviour. The concept can prove to be especially handy in the realm of money and finances too. In fact, today the concept of financial discipline, which alludes to spending and saving in accordance to the goals and plans intended to realise certain monetary goals, is generally accepted as vital to any sort of accomplishment.

Creating value is always the chief objective of any company, no matter what the business is about. While engendering value for consumers helps companies sell their products and services, creating value for stockholders i.e. growth in the entity’s stock price guarantees the inflow of capital to provide finance for operations. Speaking in strictly financial terms, value creation occurs when an enterprise’s profits and surpasses its expenses.

Easy And Inexpensive Ways To Create A Mock-Up For Your Startup Idea! (Trak.in)

As we know, a start-up is first conceptualized as an idea, takes the shape of a prototype, undergoes iterations based on feedback and then finally becomes a reality. While one might have a brilliant idea for a start-up, the investments it requires in terms of time, effort and money are high.

What this means is that before setting it up, creating a mock-up of it is important. Not only does it help one to structure the thoughts and steps related to it, it is also important from the perspective of reaching out to potential investors.

The ‘Fear Of Missing Out’, mainly known by its acronym FOMO has become a much talked about behavioural phenomenon ever since social media has taken over our lives. The word itself became so popular that it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013!

Until now, FOMO was a term that was applicable to the Internet junkies. However, given its psychological impact, it is now also commonly used to describe a human tendency. Surprisingly, FOMO has taken even the community of entrepreneurship in its grip.

This is a subject so interesting that even the researchers at the top-ranked business school Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in New York were tempted to do a study on it. In their paper titled “Habitual Entrepreneurs: Possible Cases of Behavioral Addiction?“, they mentioned that habitual entrepreneur, those who launch multiple startups throughout their careers, display symptoms of behavioural addiction similar to other better-known behavioral addictions, such as gambling or Internet usage.

The recent expansion of the Startup industry, with major pitfalls following the booming success has posed a serious question on the validity of having a good mentor to guide young minds through the exigent demands of the startup journey.

The role of a mentor does not limit itself to only the happy phases, but also at times when failure is at its peak and all possibilities have been tried and tested, but avail no result.

How does someone stay positive in that? Should a mentor understand the underlying principle of mentoring and take the onus of standing by in rough tides and handhold the mentee throughout?

Is the Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence Reducing Our Natural Intelligence? (BW Disrupt)

The Hollywood flick ‘Blade Runner’ released in 1982, depicted human-like androids which were programmed with awareness of their own artificiality. They evolved to an extent where their intelligence reached akin to their human counterparts.

Back home in India, Rajnikanth-starrer ‘Robot’ showed how a robot created to understand and show emotions takes over his creator in terms of intellect and power, and becomes homicidal. That was in 2010.